Sermon from yesterday: The Rich Man’s Burden Luke 16:1-8, Psalm 37 (selected verses) Sept. 22, 2013 Rick Marson Union UMC Today I will be speaking from the book of Luke. Luke was a disciple of the apostle Paul, and was thought to be a physician by trade. He was highly educated and a writer of great detail, like a historian; and prefaced his gospel by saying, in effect, “There were so many stories floating around about Jesus, that I thought it a ‘good idea’ to write down the most accurate one I know.” Luke’s gospel, more than any other, shows an affection for the poor, and a critique of the rich. Luke seems to think that Jesus’ most important instructions were to those related to caring for the poor, the widowed, and orphans. He often uses the expression “the rich man” in a derogatory vein; not that there is anything wrong with wealth; only that its possession can sometimes cause one to forget about God, and the work that God would have us do. Wealth can consume more than it provides. Greed is a hungry animal; it can swallow whole those who possess it. Luke 16:1-8 1Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” _____________ 4I [the manager] have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes. 5”So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” 6He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” 7Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” 8And his master [who no doubt was familiar with shrewd business tactics] commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; [Jesus continued] for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. ___________ This story that Jesus told appears only in the Gospel of Luke. No other Gospel writer had either heard it, or thought it important enough to include in their accounts of the life of Jesus. But Luke thought it to be very important. Perhaps it appealed to Luke because he was likely a person of wealth, a physician, and a scholar, who wrote in perfect Greek, something only the wealthy Palestinians could do. Maybe this story appealed to Luke because he was familiar with the hidden pressure that wealth inflicts upon its owners. Luke recognized that both the rich man and his manager were trapped in the same system, one that rewards shrewd actions more that simple honesty. The rich man actually commended his cunning manager for being so creative in his deception. Jesus said, “The children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” They are “street smart.” The same is true today. It is hard to be a successful politician, or business executive, or small business owner, or a renown educator, without succumbing to the tactic of deception. As a young executive in a Fortune 500 company, I struggled with the realization that executives had to “play the game”, even the good guys! No one told the truth all of the time. That is just the way things were! And, Jesus was right, the children of this age are often better at playing the game, than are the children of light. Perhaps the children of this age are lacking a conscience, or a witness of the Spirit in their lives, counseling them to do what is right. Perhaps they have deadened their ears to its counsel. Perhaps they have so loaded up their lives with the treasures of this world, that they forget about treasures in heaven, ones that are eternal. My dear friend, Joe Marrett, who had his 88th birthday yesterday used to say, “You can never steal enough to make it worthwhile, in the long run that is! It always catches up with you!” That is the burden the rich person carries, the temptation to do what is profitable in the short term, instead of what is right, and just. It is an endless battle. In my early years in a worldwide accounting firm, I was privileged to work for one of its managing partners, probably the #3 person in the firm. Once, when I heard of a squabble among the partners over just a couple hundred dollars, I asked him how people making so much money could be concerned with such trifling amounts. He said, “Rick, let me tell you something, no matter how much money you will ever make in your lifetime, you will always need every penny of it. It will never be enough!” This was a good man, a wonderful manager, a brilliant professional, and, quite frankly, the finest executive I have ever known. He also was a very rich man! And yet he was trapped in a system whose hunger is never satisfied. I feel, at times, trapped in the same system. When I feel that way, I often read the 37th Psalm. Listen to the words of King David. Psalm 37 1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. ____________ 16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. ___________ 23 Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; 24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. ______________ 34 Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked [or “Only with your eyes will you see the destruction of the wicked” NIV]. _________ The worries of this world can kill you . . . if you let them! They can cause you to do something completely out of character. They can lead you away from God. But trusting in the Lord can bring you an inheritance that the world would die for; and often does. Perhaps 25 years ago, Linda and I were sitting in a Burger King in the middle of a severe thunderstorm. We were waiting it out, eating our meal. Suddenly Linda jumped up from the table saying that somebody dropped something outside, and she ran out the door, without any jacket, into the driving rain. She splashed through the newly formed river in the parking lot, picked something up, and went over to a car, and stood by its window for what seemed like 5 minutes. She came back in . . . looking like she had been under a waterfall. She said that she had picked a heavy white envelope out of the rushing water. The man in the car did not know he had dropped it. He was the store manager. The envelope contained the cash deposit for the day. He was taking it to the bank for deposit. And, for a moment I thought, “Wow, she could have just walked away with it . . . and no one would have ever known!” No one, that is, but God! Do you remember that Jesus promised to never leave us, or forsake us? Do you remember that “Emmanuel” literally means “God with us,” at all times? On another subject, who would you say is the winningest NFL football coach of all time? Anyone? It was Don Shula the coach of the Baltimore Colts, and the Miami Dolphins, who have the distinction of being the only team ever to have had a perfect season, in 1972. Don Shula was such a competitive coach that one of his star players said that, “Shula would cut his own mother from the team, if it would make them better.” When it came to football, and winning, he was all business. As a young man, he seriously considered the priesthood . . . but he loved football too much! Once before an important game, the dolphins were in a stadium where the home team had been using the visitor’s locker room, only the day before. Hall of Fame fullback and team captain Larry Csonka found, in his locker, the game plan for that week, what the opposing team was going to do to defeat the Dolphins. Csonka gave the papers to the defensive coordinator coach. The Dolphins wound up losing that game, and the next week, Csonka asked the defensive coordinator how they could done so poorly, having the benefit of the other team’s game plan. The coach said, “Coach Shula threw it away!” Csonka said, “He just threw it away! Imagine that!” Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it only leads to death.” Disentangle yourself from the world system of greed and deception. It is always crouching at our door. And from the 37th Psalm above, 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 4Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.—the best business advice I ever heard! Now I just have to take it!
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:34:20 +0000
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